Super Bowl of Moons!
I bet Neil deGrasse Tyson has a big boner right about now.
You’ll soon be able to set your sights on a rarity in the night sky, a Super Blue Blood Moon! Here’s a little on the subject from the Chicago Sun-Times;
…much of the world will get to see not only a blue moon and a supermoon, but also a total lunar eclipse, all rolled into one. There hasn’t been a triple lineup like this since 1982 and the next won’t occur until 2037.
A blue moon is the second full moon in a month. A supermoon is a particularly close full or new moon, appearing somewhat brighter and bigger. A total lunar eclipse — or blood moon for its reddish tinge — has the moon completely bathed in Earth’s shadow.
“I’m calling it the Super Bowl of moons,” lunar scientist Noah Petro said Monday from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Nerds. Nerds! Nerds!! Nerds!!!! NERRRRDDDSS!
Weather may play a factor in whether we see this marvelous moon, WGN-TV has insight about conditions and timing of the event;
Chicago sky-gazers will hardly see any of the blood moon, and possibly none of it at all given the cloudy forecast.
“This particular lunar eclipse is not well-placed for Chicago,” said Michelle Nichols, director of public observing at Chicago’s Adler Planetarium. “If people want to sleep in for this one, I totally understand.”
Nichols said the moon will be just 2 degrees above the horizon when it is fully within the Earth’s shadow starting at 6:45 a.m. Wednesday, resulting in an unremarkable viewing experience.
For those who want a glimpse of the blood moon, NASA is livestreaming the event.
I’d love to snuggle up with Tom Skilling and watch this happen, he’s going to be overjoyed! Remember the total eclipse from last year? Skilling remembers…